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Melanesia
|image_map = Melanesia (orthographic projection).svg |map_width = 275px |capital = TBD |coordinates = |largest_city = capital |official_languages = |ethnic_groups = |ethnic_groups_year = |religion = TBD |demonym = Melanesian |government_type = |leader_title1 = President |leader_name1 = TBD |leader_title2 = Vice President |leader_name2 = TBD |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = TBD |leader_title4 = Chief Justice |leader_name4 = TBD |legislature = Congress |upper_house = Senate |lower_house = House of Representatives |sovereignty_type = Independence |sovereignty_note = from TBD |established_event1 = Declared |established_date1 = TBD |established_event2 = Recognized |established_date2 = TBD |established_event3 = |established_date3 = |area_rank = Nth |area_km2 = 912867.67 |percent_water = 2.6 |area_label = Total |population_estimate = 150,183,435 |population_estimate_rank = Nth |population_estimate_year = 2018 |population_census = 135,912,611 |population_census_year = 2010 |population_density_km2 = 164.5 |population_density_rank = Nth |GDP_PPP = $7.171 trillion |GDP_PPP_rank = Nth |GDP_PPP_year = 2018 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $47,753 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = Nth |GDP_nominal = $6.368 trillion |GDP_nominal_rank = Nth |GDP_nominal_year = 2018 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $42,402 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = Nth |Gini = 39.6 |Gini_rank = Nth |Gini_year = 2018 |HDI_year = 2018 |HDI = 0.927 |HDI_change = increase |HDI_rank = Nth |currency = Melanesian dollar ($) |currency_code = MEL |time_zone = |utc_offset = -9 to -11 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |DST_note = |antipodes = |date_format = |drives_on = right |cctld = .mi |iso3166code = MEL |calling_code = |patron_saint = }}Melanesia, officially the United States of Melanesia, is a located in . Located in the , Melanesia is the largest sovereign island country in the world at , and the second largest island in the world if counting dependencies and territories such as and . Melanesia is a , with the seat of government located in the capital city of TBD. The federal government of Melanesia exercises its authority over a total of TBD states, and the federal district of TBD, which separates the capital from the rest of the states as its own administrative division. The country also administers several other islands in the Pacific Ocean, including TBD, TBD, TBD, and TBD. Melanesia is home to more than 150 million inhabitants as of 2018, and is ranked as the Nth most-populous country in the world. Melanesia was established in the 1850s by the abolitionist movement in the United States, prior to its collapse in 1865, and was led by the Unified Conference for Negro Advancement (UCNA), which sought to establish a free black nation far from the influence of the European powers. An outgrowth of the pre-existing abolitionist movements of the time, such as the , the UCNA was a far more radical organization which was more aggressive in pursuing its goals, ultimately selecting the island of in Oceania as its desired location to set up a free colony of black Africans from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Africa for those who could migrate to the island. In the wake of the , and the rash of racist movements and race riots throughout the shattered country, black Americans were prompted to begin migrating from the former United States and settle in Melanesia as benefactors of the UCNA's colonization efforts on the island. Over the course of the next forty years following the collapse of the United States, blacks migrated by the tens of thousands to Melanesia with the support of the UCNA's voucher system, with wealthy sponsors of the organization paying for the ships and transportation needed to aid the hundreds of thousands of black diaspora relocate to New Guinea by the turn of the century. Outreaching to the other black diaspora communities throughout the Americas, , and the to come to Melanesia was highly successful, and the black intelligentsia sought to contribute to what was then known as the "Melanesia project". During the first half of the 20th century, Melanesia underwent a massive industrialization program to compete with the local regional powers of , , and . Seeking to attain legitimacy in the eyes of the European powers it had been established to oppose, Melanesia joined the Allies during against the , and seized several German possessions in the Pacific Ocean and captured hundreds of German soldiers garrisoned throughout the region. This was crucial in attaining the recognition of the major world powers of the time, assuring Melanesia's sovereignty as a nation. As a sign of its rapid industrialization, Melanesia built its first dreadnought of local design and materials in 1926, and along with twenty other local-built warships, on a world tour to demonstrate the advancements by Melanesia on its own terms and resources. With the increased local development within the country, Melanesia underwent a financial and cultural boom known as the Melanesian Renaissance during the late-1910s to the mid-1930s, which saw the blossoming of art, literature, philosophy, religious thought, and fashion throughout the country. The was likewise responsible for the success of the Renaissance, as the poor living conditions for blacks in North America saw the arrival of tens of thousands of highly-skilled black Americans to Melanesia, who contributed to the development of the nation's existing human capital. Following the First World War, and the start of the , Melanesia signed dozens of treaties granting free trade rights to its neighbors, such as and ; securing its financial security through its position as a middle power in the region of Oceania. In 1931, Melanesia adopted the "Black Melanesia" policies, preventing whites and Asians from migrating to the country, and passing laws preventing , or intermarriage, between blacks and non-blacks. Melanesia again sided with the during , this time fighting against the Japanese who had once been their allies during World War I. Melanesian soldiers fought throughout mainland China alongside the , and supported the effort the defend Australia from a land invasion throughout the war. Melanesia itself during the war by Japan, but successfully defeated the enemy force during the , though at the loss of some three thousand men. The country went on to join the in 1945, and support the organization's move to repulse the North Korean invasion of South Korea during the in the early-1950s. Following the conflict, Melanesia took up a neutral stance throughout the entirety of the , and pursued its own geopolitical goals, such as developing its deterrence policy which it realized in 1967. Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, Melanesia has been deeply involved in the , and is an active member of the which is composed of nations who do not side with any of the world's major power blocs. Melanesia has also maintained its racial exclusion policies, along with its outlawing of interracial marriage in the country, which remain highly popular throughout the nation, with more than 93% popular support according to the most recent poll in 2017. Though it remains ostracized for its racial policies, Melanesia has been hailed as a major financial and industrial center, as its pro-business, stance on trade and industry. Boasting a highly-educated and skilled workforce, Melanesia's work-oriented culture is deemed responsible for its development over the last century and a half. Melanesia is ranked as a highly-advanced , and is ranked as the most " " nation in the world, with the devoted to R&D within the . Likewise, 4G LTE penetration ranks at 97%, and fiber-optic cables for telecommunications has been promoted across the island. Melanesia ranks highly in ease of doing business, internet speeds, job security, and public safety, as focus on the good of the country and community over the individual, has historically been a strongly valued trait in Melanesian culture. Etymology History Prehistory Colonial era German rule British rule Groundwork for colonization Abolition movement In the United States during 1840s, there was widespread consideration for the establishment of a homeland for the black diaspora population made up of freedmen and slaves, as a way of returning them to the land of their origin. Many organizations such as the and the , actively purchased land on the African continent to help expatriate as many freed slaves in the United States back to what the organizations believed to be their true homeland. However, many African Americans did not view Africa as their true homeland, and many resisted the pressure to return by abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates seeking to remove what they thought to be a dangerous opponent, i.e., educated black Americans with the political and financial capital to pressure the government to act in their favor. In the midst of these tensions, the Unified Conference for Negro Advancement (UCNA), was established in 1846 as a counter to the white-dominated abolitionist movement and their affiliated organization, and provide a black voice to the movement for the benefit of the individuals the movement sought to represent. The individuals would lead the organization would be made up of both educated freedmen and former slaves experienced in the fields of agriculture and industry from their time in the south. Leading the organization were Alistair Barclay, Andrew Reece, Alister Townsend, and Daniel Durrant, elected to represent the UCNA in an official capacity in 1846 during the organization's first conference in . The mandate for the UCNA's leadership would be to end slavery or find a new homeland for the black population of the United States, that did not play into the hands of the white-dominated abolitionist movement to "return to where they came from". Alistair Barclay, the overall head of the UCNA, stated that while he was "thoroughly committed to the liberation of the negro wherever he may rest his head", that it was paramount that "negroes everywhere congregate in the land that shall set the forever free". Having established himself as an "Exoduster" within the organization – those seeking to leave America rather than seek equality within it – many equally saw the call to action as rational in the light of political events in the United States. The question of slavery had been driving millions of Americans apart from one another, even within the same families, as individuals took up a position on the topic of black Americans and their role in Western society. The United States Congress was mulling over the possibility of extending slavery to new states entering the union across the country, and the fear of slavery growing was a real danger that many blacks in the north sought to end. On the other end of the issue was the location of a new homeland for blacks in the diaspora, who did not want to return to Africa based on the hostile conditions on the continent, location of dangerous powers such as France, Spain, and Portugal in Africa, and the idea that they had to return to Africa even though they were Americans by birth and in spirit. Finally, the idea that slavery would end within the next twenty years was not viewed as a possible reality that the abolition movement could attain within sparking a civil war, as the southern slave states were extremely reliant upon the forced labor that formed the backbone of all their economies. With this understanding in mind, Barclay's statements were vindicated in the eyes of his opponents within the UCNA, and it allowed him to push for his ultimate goal of finding and settling a new land for blacks, not just in the United States, but in any location they or their forefathers before them had been forcibly brought as slaves. Because of the wide-ranging scope of the organization's charter under Barclay's administration of the UCNA, he received significant support from free blacks across the globe, from Canada to Brazil, and France to the United Kingdom, all seeking to contribute to a black-run abolitionist campaign that would cater to the needs of the black diaspora according to the goals set forth by that black diaspora. Donations were provided by freedmen throughout the United States thanks to the image of the organization, as well as the goals it aspired too, and because it didn't point to Africa as a "collection bin" for the free blacks of America, effectively trying to push them back to a continent many barely knew or wished to return to, the UCNA had far more popular support and legitimacy than it contemporaries at the time. Expeditions of the UCNA By the time the organization collected enough money to fund its goals, a series of regions had been selected for the project of colonization by members of the black diaspora. Any location in Africa was immediately disregarded, and the continent itself was banned as a potential region for settlement. The rationale for the harsh view of the continent, had everything to do with the dangers in the area beyond just poor publicity. The European colonial powers were eyeing the black continent for themselves due to its vast size, untouched resources, and the potential to establish new centers of trade and resource extraction in Africa. Any black homeland there would be, as was the case with dozens of other non-white nations around the world, conquered and incorporated into some random colonial empire the Europeans were keen to expand. To move to Africa would be to willingly invite the danger of being annexed within but a few short years. As such, for the sake of the mission at hand, other regions would be considered, far from the reach of the European nations and their superior militaries. Asia and Oceania were thus the two finalists to make it into the consideration for a UCNA-sponsored expedition. Of the regions considered, Australia, New Zealand, Borneo, and New Guinea were selected as possible area to begin operations. Australia was quickly eliminated from the list, due to the large white population occupying all the fertile lands in the east, and the hostile climate and terrain in the west, preventing a successful colony from being established. New Zealand nearly made it into the finalist list due to the lack of European colonization, and a weak native population that had nearly wiped itself out during the island's so-called . However, the British were beginning to ramp up development of the island, and would be hard-pressed to give it up to black migrants seeking a homeland on recently-acquired virgin territory. Borneo was immediately dropped from the list when the Dutch and British began passing the island off to one another ad hoc, making any sort of administration and negotiation impossible to carry out. As such, the only area left on the list would be the island of New Guinea. Historically, neither the Dutch nor the British spent much time on the island, and disregarded it as an outback possession worth more as a political chess piece than a serious contender for colonial development and government funding and resources. With hostile natives lurking in the dense jungles of New Guinea's various mountains and highlands, it was considered too dangerous to bother exploring the island, and devoting the manpower needed to turn it into a major center of trade, especial with the island of Java and the continent of Australia being in the same region, and far more profitable for the Dutch and the British respectively. A decision was thus made that New Guinea would be selected to serve as the destination for the UCNA's expedition, to survey the land and prepare plans for colonization. A group of thirty men, led by Othello Williams, a senior member of the organization, would be sent to New Guinea to prepare the report for the UCNA, and help guide the plans for the organization based on their discoveries. The expedition would set out in March of 1850, and would spend the next six months residing in New Guinea as they explored its interior. Setting down on the shore of what would become its future capital of TBD, the expedition immediately began setting up base camp and surveying the land for the future colonization of the island. Williams and his team charted the interior from the far-eastern peninsula back to their base camp, and established contact with several peaceful tribes within the interior of New Guinea. The first of these were the , who aided Williams and his men in finding edible foods and safe drinking water. Williams later utilized the New Zealander method to convince the Motu people to sell their land in exchange for guns, which led to warfare between the tribes in the interior, killing hundreds of natives for the future settlers, sparing them of the effort of stopping a native insurgency. The land's soil quality was recorded by Williams to help the settlers develop a method of dealing with its stony soil and phosphate retention issues, and would prove invaluable in the coming years and decades. Detailed information of the activities of the group were sent back to the UCNA headquarters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, updating the organization of Williams' progress, and when to begin sending settlers to New Guinea. By August 1850, the original goal of the expedition had been realized, with at least 60% of New Guinea's coastline well-surveyed and good harbors pinpointed. Likewise, 30% of the interior on the eastern half of the island had been mapped with the aid of the natives, and the team's mission completed. With the information gathered by the expedition team, the UCNA had developed some potential solutions to the issues that would be faced by the black settlers moving to the island of New Guinea. Ships that would be traveling to the island would be phosphate-rich manures to counteract the axion fixation problems faced by more than a third of the island. Heavy plows and equipment to dredge drainage canals to deal with flooding and remove large stones were also shipped thanks to the information gathered by the team. All of the equipment required would be paid for the wealthier members of the organization, who saw the project as the start of something grand for the black diaspora. Williams himself would be a contributor, and he and his men returned to the United States victoriously, and would return at the head of the first team of settlers by 1851. Exodus to New Guinea In the early months of 1851, Othello Williams sent the go-ahead to the UCNA to begin advertising tickets to begin moving to New Guinea. Though some within the UCNA feared the legal ramifications of migrating to an island controlled by the Dutch, Alistair Barclay and his fellow leaders within the UCNA stated that the Dutch claimed, but did not control, New Guinea, and had far more to gain from the western-half of the Dutch East Indies. Likewise, they knew of no valuable minerals on New Guinea that could be easily exploited, and were thus content to allow the island to exist as it was for the time being, allowing the UCNA to move onto the island unopposed. Though this lax way of thinking exposed the lack of political experience within the organization, it would be sometime until this miscalculation would effect it. Until then, the entire venture would advertised as "a virgin island" with "untamed beauty and fertile lands", and natives "as noble as they were beautiful". As a consequence, more than 30,000 tickets were sold – many at half price – within the first month of advertising in February, to members of the black community in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Because of the lack of passenger carrying capacity, the tiny fleet of four ships purchased by the UCNA would have to make the trips in groups of two until the fleet could be expanded, and more passengers accommodated. The town of TBD would be established in line with UCNA city planning, ensuring that only the most logical street grid for the area was constructed, and that the most people could be introduced with sanitation, clean water, and lighting. Plans for a series of roads and a railroad were also drawn up, but would not be implemented until 1857 when the funds had become available for such a grand scheme. Prior to colonization by the black diaspora, Williams estimated that a population of some 750,000 native peoples and Europeans, mainly in the far western side of New Guinea, resided across the island. At least 80% of the population resided within the interior. Because of this, the rest of the land was easily occupied and without having to fight with the locals, allowing colonization of New Guinea to proceed without issue. Within a five-year period following official colonization by the UCNA in 1851, more than 200,000 individuals had migrated to the island of New Guinea, with at least 100,000 recorded births within the same period of time. The UCNA could not cope with the vast demographic boom on the island, and thus established the Melanesian Colonization Authority (MCA) to manage finances, infrastructure development, law enforcement, and security. The UCNA would exist back in the United States as the advertiser for the land, charter ships, sell tickets, and organizing migration flow to New Guinea. Alistair Barclay would appoint Othello Williams as the head of the MCA, and a leading member of the UCNA, Daniel Durrant, as the head of the MCA's migration and housing departments. The two men would, with their knowledge and resources, establish a series of towns across the New Guinea peninsula in the east, and direct the flow of settlers to them all, helping to relive population pressures along the coast, and populate other regions of the island. American Civil War Troubles at home As Melanesia began to coalesce into a proper colony under the aegis of the UCNA, back home in the United States, the debate about the morality of slavery and its future in the country began to enter into a most hostile forum of discussion. In 1854, the U.S. state of had begun the process of becoming a formal state of the union, notifying the United States Congress of its desire to join the rest of the country as a state in the 1850s. However, debate over the status of Kansas within the union, namely as a slave state or a free state, was sparked by interested parties on both sides prior to Kansas' admission to the Union in 1861, a spin-off of the earlier of 1820. The two sides of the debate were the and the settlers who had migrated to the state with their slaves. The gridlock over what had at the time been considered a simple process of voting the state's stance on slavery prior to entry into the Union, had been compounded by the , which opened up thousands of farms for settlement for the benefit of railroad companies seeking to pass through the land. As a consequence of the act's adoption by Congress in 1854, primarily pushed by the , thousands of Americans from the north and south began flooding into the territory with the hope of swinging the vote for admission into the Union as a free state or slave state. This ultimately led to the beginning of the decade-long era known as , which set the stage for the upcoming . Only two years later was the issue compounded further by the infamous case in the . , a slave from , had attempted to purchase his and his family's freedom from his owner, who refused, prompting Scott to unsuccessfully sue for his freedom. The case had become a brenchmark for future incidents of its kind, and ultimately resulted in an increased fear that no matter where a slave escaped too, his or her master could simply call upon the state to return their slaves by force. Ever wary of the increasingly hostile atmosphere in the United States, Alistair Barclay and the UCNA quickly moved to prepare a contingency plan to prevent the loss of progress on their "Melanesia project" as the colonization effort had become known as, nor lose potential colonists for the campaign to establish a free nation for blacks in Oceania. Barclay and his associates thus reached out to other members of the abolitionist movement in the United States and Canada, and set up a secret escape route for free and enslaved blacks alike to move out westward to , where they would later be moved to Melanesia. This movement, known as the – already in force since the late-1700s – would prove instrumental to the cause of the UCNA as tens of thousands of black Americans were aided in their flight westward to the free state of California. As the American Civil War enter into its opening stages in 1861, the UCNA began the process of moving its offices from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to , California, far from the frontlines of the conflict. With the support of the Underground Railroad, the UCNA was responsible for providing the funding and transportation for the slaves at designated waypoints along the and out west, while the members of the Railroad itself would be responsible for getting the slaves away from the plantations and guiding them to safety. Using the war as cover, the UCNA was able to traffic more than 20,000 slaves from plantations from throughout the rebellious by 1865. Needless to say, though the organization's operations in the south were carried out clandestinely, opposition to the movement was rampant as a consequence of its encourage of the movement in public discussions. Barclay made no apologies for his support for the movement, making him a target of various pro-slavery advocates throughout the United States. Because of his stern position on the topic of slavery, and the success his organization had in combating slavery in the war-torn United States, blacks in the United States and Canada regarded him as a hero and leader of the black diaspora throughout the continent, and looked to him for guidance on how best combat the issue of slavery. End to slavery As the American Civil War reached its apex in 1863, President issues his famous on 1 January 1863, declaring the federal government's abolition of slavery throughout the loyalist territories of the United States. Effectively, any slave who escaped the Confederate States would be legally recognized as a freedman by the United States government. Seeing the potential in this momentous act by President Lincoln, the UCNA actively increased its efforts to move as many slaves from the south into the north, and utilize the Proclamation's edict to openly transport them from the United States to Melanesia without having to fear any legal ramifications from slaveowners operating in within the slave states in the north. As Union troops tore through the defenses of the southern rebels, UCNA agents followed closely behind them and provided instructions to the freed slaves how to migrate to the colony of Melanesia with the help of the organization. Though many critics considered the UCNA's actions to be "predatory poaching", Barclay once again made no apologies for his actions, believing that the cause of freedom without fear was of the highest priority. Tens of thousands of black men, women, and children accepted the offer given to the by Barclay and the UCNA, and left the United States behind them as they sought to attain a better life overseas. These freed slaves, left in droves across the American West, taking with them their meager possessions, whatever money they had saved as slaves, and the few weapons they took off of the battlefields they passed as the victorious Union Army marched deeper and deeper into the Confederacy. So as to expedite the movement of freedmen across the vast American plains, the UCNA negotiated a compromise with the major railroad companies, allowing the UCNA to move thousands of its patrons across the continent at half-price, in exchange for a single lump sum to pay for the extension of the railway in the western United States. By the war's end in 1865, some 100,000 black Americans had left the United States, with many thousands yet to come, as they saw no future for them in the nation that had held them hostage for more than four centuries. Population boom In 1865, an unforeseen event would shake the world and provide a major boon to the UCNA and Melanesia as a whole. At in , President Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated by a former actor and southern sympathizer named , who proclaimed that Lincoln's actions had killed slavery movement and had been a major blow to southern pride. A constitutional crisis erupted throughout the post-war United States, leading to the collapse of the government and the rise of secessionist movements throughout the country. Seeking revenge upon the individuals who they felt were responsible for the start of the civil war and defeat of the south, whites throughout the country – primarily in the south – began attacking blacks throughout the region and killing hundreds of them. Seizing a golden opportunity, Barclay declared himself a "champion of the negroes" and sent in militias which had been formed by the UCNA to protect their assets in the United States from pro-slavery supporters. These militias would defeat thousands of former Confederate veterans, and rescue thousands of freed slaves from their pursuers. With any hope of reconciliation gone for good, hundreds of thousands of blacks both in the United States and Canada, decided to commit themselves to the Melanesia project, which had by 1870, gained widespread attention for its actions during the American Civil War. Abolitionists throughout the globe saw the movement as a legitimate torchbearer for their cause, and donated generously to the UCNA and its colonial wing, the Melanesian Colonization Authority, allowing them to transport the tens of thousands of black families from devastated United States overseas to Melanesia. The UCNA headquarters was moved once again from San Francisco to TBD, so as to better oversee the colonization effort, and coordinate the migration work globally. Within the span of a few years, Melanesia witnessed, a single year along, an influx of some 70,000 black American immigrants to the island in 1872. These immigrants, calling themselves , were fleeing the rampant race riots in the United States as the country collapsed, and establish a new life for themselves in Melanesia. Consequently, Melanesia found itself having to form a proper government to oversee the development of farmland, infrastructure, and resources in the colony. Between 1870 and 1880, the population of Melanesia increased nearly twofold, from 1.9 million to 3.1 million, as more and more black people migrated to the colony. In 1883, the UCNA was officially disbanded and all operations transferred over to the Melanesian Colonization Authority, with Barclay remaining the president of the organization. With the increase in population, a militia was formed to protect the colony from external and internal threats, primarily from the Dutch and the British, who had grown wary of the Melanesian experiment on their doorsteps. A call to arms for men between the ages of 18 and 40 was put out by the MCA to form a permanent militia for the colony, with up to 20,000 volunteers sought after by the colonial administration. Likewise, a small flotilla of armed vessels was established by the colony to prevent piracy by the natives of and the , seeking to prevent raids on the colony's coastal settlements in the west. As colony's population continued to increase rapidly, it be became apparent that rapid development of the island was required, and the need for other social policies were a necessity. As the island's population was projected to double within the next decade alone, measures had to be taken to prevent a catastrophic collapse of the colony due to lack of arable land or resources. A system of taxation was implemented by the MCA, pegged at a modest 5% tax on all goods sold and traded within Melanesia. Likewise, a grid-based land development system akin to that in the former United States was also drawn up to oversee the distribution of land. Looking to avoid the disasters that were Haiti and Liberia, namely, uneducated blacks taking over the agricultural needs of the state, the colonial administration carefully implemented educational policies to prevent the rise of subsistence farming in Melanesia. With effective teaching of the farming population in how to care for crops other than cotton or rice, Melanesia was able to develop its small plots of arable land effectively. Likewise, thanks to the land surveying and development that took place three decades ago, the once inhospitable tropical island of New Guinea was slowly transformed into a habitable island that was able to support a larger population. Flooding was counteracted by the introduction of canals and levees, draining soil of high water content and allowing it to support crops. Furthermore, exploration of the island's mineral resources revealed vast deposits of iron, gold, and copper across the island, though the MCA wisely kept this information hidden until it could extract and exploit these resources on its own. European imperialism Disputes with the Dutch German interference Foreign recognition World War I Interwar period Agricultural revolution Industrialization British mandate era Road to independence World War II Cold War Miracle on the Sepik Contemporary era Geography and climate Geography Melanesia (excluding New Guinea) *Population: 2,286,706 *Area: 86,522 km2 Climate Biodiversity and environment Politics Government Melanesia's government is a with a , with an array of enshrined in the constitution, hearkening back to the government of the former United States. Melanesia is one of the oldest democracies in the world, with a long history of republicanism beginning with the self-governance of Melanesia during its colonial period during the mid-1800s. The President of Melanesia is both the head of state and the head of government, and is elected to a four-year term of office, with the possibility of re-election to a second successive term. There are no term limits, though the only limitation is that the president must wait four years before seeking re-election to a third, non-consecutive term in office. The president appoints members of the Cabinet, who aid him in enforcing federal laws, policies, and regulations. As of 20XX, the current president was TBD. The President wields the power to pass executive orders within the structure of his or her constitution rights, and appoints members to the Supreme Court and the various federal agencies of the government. As with the members of the legislature, the President is elected by direct vote, with a simple majority required to win the office. Below the executive branch is the Congress of Melanesia, which comprises the legislative branch of government. The Congress is divided into two houses; the Senate, which serves as the upper house, and House of Representatives, which occupies the lower house. Both are responsible for passing bills into law, voting on declarations of war and the approval of peace treaties, and hold the . The House of Representatives is considered the more powerful of the two houses, in that it can also impeach the president if he or she is found to be grossly negligent in the execution of their duties as the head of state, or incapable of carrying out their responsibilities in the event of serious health or mental issues. The Senate consists of XX members, three from each state, who are elected to six-year terms, while the House of Representatives consists of XX members, elected to two-year terms of office, with each state's number of seats apportioned according to census data collected every ten years. The judicial branch of Melanesia consists of the Supreme Court, which is responsible for interpreting constitutional law, as well as any federal laws passed by Congress, overturning those deemed to be . The court is composed of ten associate justices, and a single Chief Justice, who heads the court and makes the final ruling on cases. The Supreme Court is regarded as the final interpreter all any judicial decision made in the country, and its rulings are final. All laws within Melanesia are subject to by the Supreme Court in line with the Melanesian constitution. Any law deemed to be in violation of the constitution by the court is voided by the Chief Justice on behalf of the Supreme Court. The justices are all appointed by the president of Melanesia, and approved by Congress after a prolonged period of questioning and crosschecking to confirm the validity of the president's choice for the Supreme Court. The various lower district courts in Melanesia are responsible for accepting cases which don't require the immediate attention of the Supreme Court. All of its judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. Administrative divisions Law and justice Foreign relations Military *'Melanesian Armed Forces' **'Expenditures' ***'Budget:' $216.514 billion (FY 2018) ***'Percent of GDP:' 3.4% (FY 2018) **'Personnel' ***'Active personnel (Forward deployable):' 484,948 (161,648) ***'Reserve personnel (Active reserves):' 294,611 (98,203) **'Branches' ***'Melanesian Army:' 172,197 (57,399) ***'Melanesian Navy:' 130,311 (23,270) ***'Melanesian Air Force:' 111,695 (61,083) ***'Melanesian Marine Corps:' 51,194 (14,544) ***'Melanesian Coast Guard:' 19,551 (6,517) Demographics *'1850:' 747,502 – N/A *'1860:' 1,139,941 – 52.5% (colonization campaign) *'1870:' 1,907,120 – 67.3% (fleeing American Civil War) *'1880:' 3,110,513 – 63.1% *'1890:' 7,707,806 – 56.8% *'1900:' 11,268,722 – 51.6% *'1910:' 15,521,655 – 47.4% *'1920:' 20,585,749 – 44.6% (post-WW1 race riots in Europe and America) *'1930:' 26,665,478 – 42.8% *'1940:' 33,166,017 – 39.6% *'1950:' 44,177,135 – 33.2% *'1960:' 57,032,681 – 29.1% *'1970:' 58,855,148 – 26.9% (start of birth control campaign) *'1980:' 72,374,472 – 20.2% *'1990:' 104,131,955 – 19.7% *'2000:' 120,064,144 – 15.3% *'2010:' 135,912,611 – 13.2% *'2018:' 150,183,435 – 10.5% Urbanization Languages Religion Education Healthcare Economy Melanesia been classified as a and country, being defined as such since its industrialization in the 1920-30s, and is likewise considered the most industrialized member state of the . The country is defined as having a fully economy with little to no government intervention, and few regulatory blocks preventing corporate growth and investment. Melanesia's economy according , stood at $7.171 trillion as of 2018, while its market exchange rates stood at $6.368 trillion. Accordingly, the nation's abroad was $1.683 trillion while its received FDI was about $1.614 trillion. Significant economic strides have been made in the country due to the government's pro-business attitude toward investment and development, and consequently, Melanesia had the largest number of in the world thanks to the low regulations and bureaucracy required to setup a new company in the country. In 2017, Melanesia was ranked 1st in the world by , and 3rd by share of people performing highly-skilled work. Melanesia boasts some of the most advanced , , industries in the world, and is generally regarded as a global leader in the production of high-quality precision tools and equipment. Melanesia is also considered a leader in the production of technologically advanced , , , steel and nonferrous metals, and textiles. Though originally regarded as a poor region for agriculture, most of Melanesia's land was developed and worked to make it more hospitable for crops and livestock. Though employing less than 3% of the population, Melanesia's agricultural sector accounts for about 14% of the national economy. The country's unemployment rate has historically remained low, at around 3-4% as of 2018, while workforce participation rates have remained high for the entirety of the country's history. In 2017, Melanesia's labor force consisted of about 0.0 million workers, most of which were employed in the services industry. Mining and processing of raw minerals is another part of the economy which has been performing well in Melanesia. Despite limited natural resources, the country's intensive development of its existing industrial sector, balanced out its deficiency in resources. Traditionally, the Melanesian work ethic has long been credited with the success of Melanesia as a pro-free market nation, with a culture of hard work and personal success driving its citizens to devote themselves to the advancement of the financial capacity of the state. Competition in the market is encouraged by deregulating the process of starting up a company, while upward mobility and startup companies prevent conglomerates from holding onto highly-skilled employees, and thus preventing the rise of deeply-entrenched monopolies. Melanesia was one of the few developed economies in the world to avoid the harmful effects of the , and the resulting , which impacts virtually every single developed economy on earth. Melanesian economists had been responsible for predicting the effects of the American housing bubble of the late-1990s and early-2000s, and encouraged Melanesians to either avoid investing in the housing market, or at the very least diversify their portfolios just in case. Thankfully, their recommendations were heeded, and the country avoided one of the worst economic recessions in recent history. Energy Transport Science and technology Infrastructure Culture Visual arts Literature Architecture Media Sports Cuisine Category:Melanesia Category:Countries Category:Nations Category:Regions Category:Countries on Earth Category:Worlds Category:Country